tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6553576798884027222018-05-24T10:11:16.354-07:00The Compulsive LogophileMining the wealth of the English language, one word at a time,
by Ruth MacLaurinRuth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-41666624406663199102018-05-24T10:11:00.000-07:002018-05-24T10:11:16.354-07:00Unbalanceunbalance<br />verb, transitive. To put out of balance, specifically to derange mentally.<br /><br />John raised the garage door and squinted into the gloom. His son’s bicycle was in the back, in a corner, suspended from a hook in the ceiling. Ruefully, he looked over the row of items between it and him. He briefly considered giving up on the plan to cycle for exercise this morning, then thought of what his doctor had told him two months ago and stiffened his resolve. He needed to do this, in order to keep high blood pressure and diabetes at bay. Besides, Rick was waiting for him.<br /><br />After backing the car out of the garage, John had little trouble reaching the bike, lifting it down and wheeling it out onto the driveway. He straddled the seat and lifted his feet while examining the tires. They bulged outward a little; not enough to indicate a need for air. He glanced back into the garage. He would have to rearrange it later, in order to make it easier to get the bike in and out. That was okay. That, too, would be exercise. He faced forward, leaning on the handlebars, and prepared to ride a few doors down the street to Rick’s house.<br /><br />He felt paralyzed all of a sudden. How long had it been since he rode a bike? Ten years? Twenty? Would he remember what to do? He stared at the pavement before him, breathing long and deeply. It would be okay. They said that you never forget how to ride a bicycle, and he recalled that there were summers when he was a child when he must have spent as much time riding one as he spent on foot. The thought was reassuring. A quick check left and right to make sure no traffic was coming, and he pushed off.<br /><br />He took the turn from the drive onto the street so slowly that he unbalanced for a moment, then he was going straight again and stopped wobbling. Speed was part of the trick, he remembered. A little more momentum would stabilize you on a bike.<br /><br />There was a slight uphill grade between his driveway and Rick’s. John pedalled more confidently, shifting up one gear. Down the street, he saw Rick coast down his driveway and stop at the street. Then, Rick leaned over and appeared to be looking at the rear derailleur on his bike. John continued up the gentle slope until he was next to Rick and halted. “What--did you leave it in the top gear?” he asked.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-42940242730892066062018-05-21T10:07:00.000-07:002018-05-21T10:07:25.838-07:00Tutortutor<br />verb, transitive. To have the guardianship, tutelage, or care of; to teach or guide, usually individually in a special subject or for a particular purpose.<br />verb, intransitive. To do the work of a tutor; to receive instruction, especially privately.<br />Also a noun.<br /><br />The phone interrupted Ruth just before she was about to save the business card she had just finished as a PDF and email it to the client. Compressing her lips, she continued with the steps, thinking that it was probably another telemarketing call. She would let the answering machine pick up.<br /><br />“Ruth? Are you there? This is May Coolidge.”<br /><br />Ruth was shocked at how much her anger flared at the sound of that voice. May was a customer of the printing company that had laid Ruth off a couple of months previously, and not a good customer, either. May dabbled in design and layout and was constantly calling the office to ask Ruth’s advice on how to use the software necessary to produce high-quality work. Once May finished one of her little projects, she would bring the files to Ruth’s company and do her best to coerce Ruth’s boss into printing it for free or at a deep discount. She had used up Ruth’s reservoir of patience long ago.<br /><br />“Hello,” she spoke into the phone, wondering how May had tracked her down at home. She knew that no one at her former office would have given out her number.<br /><br />“Oh, you’re there! Listen, I’m putting together a newsletter for my genealogy group, and I have a bunch of JPGs. Is it okay if I use those?”<br /><br />“It depends. What’s the resolution?”<br /><br />“Mmm. I haven’t opened them to find out yet.”<br /><br />“They need to be 300 pixels per inch at the size they’re going to print. If they are, it would be better if you convert them to TIFs before you place them in the document.”<br /><br />“Aww! TIFs take up so much memory...”<br /><br />Ruth could hear the familiar whining tone in May’s voice. The woman insisted on doing everything on the cheap. Ruth was certain that May’s hard drive was already strained nearly to its limit by the software alone. She was surprised that the other woman wasn’t always complaining about it crashing. “There’s a good reason for that,” she remarked, but didn’t elaborate. Instead, she decided that it was high time she told May some unwelcome facts. “If you’re not going to set up the files properly, you shouldn’t do it at all, May. You will only cause problems on the press. That will cause delays and cost money, and if it costs you money, it will serve you right.” She heard May sputter on the other end of the line and went on: “You keep asking me pretty basic questions. You need to devote time to learning how to use your software to do your projects. There are thousands of free tutorials online that will teach you almost everything you need to know. You can also spend time reading discussions on the software users’ groups. That’s how I learned everything I know. If you want to continue calling me so I can tutor you over the phone--long distance--I’m going to have to bill you forty-five dollars an hour.”<br /><br />“What?!?!” May shouted into her ear. “That’s outrageous!”<br /><br />“That’s what I charge my freelance clients. You interrupted me while I was working on a project for one of them. It’s only fair that I charge you the same for taking up my time.” Ruth actually charged her clients thirty-five an hour, except for one who annoyed her. She charged him forty-five. May definitely qualified as annoying.<br /><br />This was met with a long silence. Finally, May replied: “I’ll have to think about that.” She sounded defeated. Ruth smiled, but said nothing. After another moment, May said goodbye and hung up. Ruth hoped that that would be the last conversation she would ever have with the woman.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-87217856807337213202018-05-16T13:02:00.000-07:002018-05-16T13:02:42.183-07:00Seversever<br />verb, transitive. To put or keep apart; to divide; to part by violence, as by cutting.<br />verb, intransitive. To become separated.<br /><br />Ted almost turned and left when no one came to the door for five minutes after he pressed the doorbell button. He could hear the bell through the apartment door, so he didn’t bother to knock. He pressed the button again and was rewarded by the click of the deadbolt before the door opened a couple of inches.<br /><br />“Oh, hi!” Clare looked surprised to see him, but not displeased. After half a breath, she smiled and opened the door wider. “Come in. It’s good to see you.”<br /><br />Once inside, Ted surveyed the living room. It was sparsely furnished with comfortable-looking chairs. In contrast to the surroundings where he had last seen her, the room was tidy; the carpet recently vacuumed.<br /><br />“I was visiting Jack and Kate this morning,” he began. At the disappearance of her smile, he paused. He had suspected that something had gone wrong in the relationship Clare had with the couple, but this was the first evidence of it he had seen. “I didn’t know that you had moved out.”<br /><br />She nodded by way of confirming that, then motioned him toward a chair. “Can I get you some coffee?”<br /><br />He shook his head. “I can’t stay long. I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”<br /><br />“Better than I was,” she stated, “and better every day.”<br /><br />“Better because...?”<br /><br />“Because we broke up the household of hell!”<br /><br />Ted mused, “I had no idea you and Mike were unhappy, living with them. When did that start?”<br /><br />She thought for a moment. “About six weeks after we moved in together. I did the unthinkable. I stopped at the store on my way home from work, then was told--at the top of Jack’s lungs--that I should have consulted him and Kate before I did something that concerned the entire household. Do you believe that? They wanted to have a group meeting for every decision. All I bought was a gallon of milk!”<br /><br />“That does sound unreasonable. Did anything else happen?”<br /><br />“Oh, yeah. That was only the beginning. It was always Jack finding fault, and if I tried with all my might to behave according to his rules after one of his tirades, the rules would change, somehow. Over time, it became more and more clear that I couldn’t do anything right and neither could Mike: not for the group, not for the kids--even ours--nothing. Anything one of us did was an excuse for him to pick a fight.”<br /><br />“What did Kate do? Was this happening when she was at work?”<br /><br />“No. It usually happened when she was at home. She almost invariably backed him up. I have a nickname for her now: ‘Enabler-in-Chief.’”<br /><br />Ted shook his head sadly. “I feel bad, Clare. I encouraged you to consent to moving in with them, then I had to work so much that I couldn’t come by very often. Maybe I could have helped.”<br /><br />“No, you couldn’t have.” Her expression had grown sorrowful. “We might have been able to find a way of getting along with them in time, but when they began to belittle Mike Junior, we decided that we had to sever the relationship.”<br /><br />He was surprised. “Sever? You mean that you never see them any more?”<br /><br />“That’s right. It took some doing, let me tell you: going for long drives in late afternoon or evening; weekend camping trips.... A couple of times, we just pretended we weren’t here. After awhile, they stopped trying to drop in.” She scoffed. “The few times they did catch us at home, all they did was ask for money. We kept saying ‘No.’ We’ve subsidized them enough for one lifetime.”<br /><br />Ted sat back and regarded Clare sardonically. “That explains it. This morning, Jack told me that you two aren’t doing well at all.”<br /><br />She threw back her head and guffawed. Her delight was so intense that Ted began to smile in concert with her laughter. “I’m going to tell you a secret, Ted,” she finally stated. “And I know that you will let it go no further than these walls.” She gestured at the boundaries of the room. “We realized that it’s in our best interests not to let Jack and Kate know how well we’re doing.”<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-67755303941670581412018-05-13T13:38:00.000-07:002018-05-13T13:38:00.740-07:00Revelrevel<br />verb, intransitive. To take intense satisfaction; to roister; to take part in a revel.<br />Also a noun, meaning a wild party or celebration.<br /><br />Ruth plopped onto the porch swing and stretched the sleeve of her t-shirt out so she could mop her face with it. It always surprised her, that she could resist the urge to exercise as hard as she did, leaping upon any excuse to avoid it, but then, soon after she began, she would revel in the activity, and the longer she kept at it, the better it felt. As she had kept moving until just this moment: ten minutes, twenty, twenty-five and finally thirty minutes, she reflected that this hadn’t been so difficult while she was working. Somehow, the more restrictions there were on her time, the more discipline she was able to apply in using that time.<br /><br />When she had a normal job, in town, she would rise early in order to arrive at least forty-five minutes before she was expected at the office. She would lock the car and take off down one of the city’s excellent walking/cycling trails, nodding greetings to others who were using the trail, thinking about the day to come as she walked. Before lunch, she would take a shorter walk on the sidewalks in the neighborhood of her office. Most days, she walked for about an hour, and gleefully watched her excess weight melt away. Now, she worked from home, had all the time in the world to organize as she saw fit, and nothing could be more challenging than setting aside time to exercise every day.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, <i>G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-9156103435210703782018-05-09T13:32:00.000-07:002018-05-09T13:32:05.281-07:00Quashquash<br />verb, transitive. To reject or to void, especially by legal procedure; to put an end to or to suppress<br /><br />Ruth turned from ‘net-surfing to a writing exercise, propelled by the momentum she had experienced earlier that morning while writing a journal entry, then a practice piece. She loved the way her mind would awaken and generate ideas that she had had no idea were waiting in the wings when her hands were idle. Sometimes, her fingers would begin to ache with the strain of typing so quickly. These were the times when she knew beyond any doubt that she was a writer--no question. When the act itself gave her more happiness than almost anything else she did.<br /><br />Then an unexpected sensation interrupted her focus: she felt hungry.<br /><br />“Wha...? It seems as if I just ate breakfast!” she muttered. The previous day, she had decided to eliminate wheat from her diet, as an experiment, after reading thirty or forty pages in a book her sister had sent for her birthday: William Davis’ <i>Wheat Belly</i>. She had seen copies of it in bookstores and in health-food stores for several years, but had never picked it up to sample the contents. She had figured that she was already following enough diet restrictions, with little to show for it. Her abdomen continued to grow. Every time she weighed, she was disgusted by the higher number on the scale.<br /><br />Then yesterday, she found herself reading on and on in the Davis book. His premise was alarming. Agronomists have been changing the DNA of wheat for decades, and now, after 50 years or so, our bodies probably cannot recognize it as food. This is similar to the body’s response to the High Fructose Corn Syrup we ingest. Yes, it’s made of corn, but it is so intensively processed that our bodies can’t recognize it as food. The puzzled body stores it in the liver as fat. Ruth suspected that the body was converting wheat to abdominal fat and storing it as well, for a similar reason.<br /><br />Her hunger pangs distracted her again. She slowed her typing. “Maybe I should put on my Sauconys and go out and get some exercise,” she thought. “Exercise always seems to quash these hunger pangs.” She stopped typing and pushed away from the desk.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-26531422178082090412018-05-06T13:29:00.000-07:002018-05-06T13:29:06.534-07:00Piquepique<br />verb, transitive. To stimulate interest or curiosity; to feel irritated or resentful.<br />Also a noun, as "a fit of pique."<br /><br />Alice was at a loss to recall what had piqued her interest in the late-night talk show first: had she tuned into it by accident one night after the NPR affilitate stopped broadcasting jazz and went off the air at midnight? More likely, she had walked to the back of the shop and heard the warm baritone voice issuing from the pressman’s radio: “I’m Art Bell, and this is Coast to Coast A.M.” She had heard that name; heard about the show. After she brewed her tea, she had returned to her desk and fiddled with her radio until she found it, then sat down, resumed her work, and listened until she finished her shift and left the office.<br /><br />That was when she still worked graveyard shift. By the time she discovered Bell’s show, she had been working those hours for about ten years. Sometimes she had the company of the pressman, sometimes not. He was the boss’ brother-in-law and had a lot of freedom. He was also even more of a recluse than she was.<br /><br />Alice loved her hours. She wasn’t very sociable, and preferred to be able to arrive at the shop, clock in and spend the next eight hours producing something. The phone rang rarely, and when it did, it was usually for her. She ate at her desk. She kept the radio on all the time she was there. At midnight, she had been in the habit of changing from NPR to a rock oldies station. After she found out where Bell’s show aired, she began to switch to it instead. The third night she did so, a caller regaled him with a story about a terrible date she had had. When she finished, Art asked her a few questions, then thanked her and announced, “Everyone who is on hold, hang up. I’m only going to take calls from people who want to talk about ‘Dates from Hell!’”<br /><br />And he did. What followed was two hours of the most outlandish and frightening stories Alice had ever heard. The most riveting was told by a woman who had probably gone out with a serial killer, who had kept herself from panicking and thereby gotten away from him. After that show, Alice was hooked.<br /><br />Since she kept the same hours on weekends, she would listen to Coast to Coast A.M. on Saturday and Sunday nights at home. It was the most entertaining era of her career. She listened avidly to Art interview callers about hauntings, alien abductions and a vast array of other topics that skirted the fringes of science and ordinary experience. She visited the show’s website regularly. After the first few weeks, she had to bring herself up short and remind herself that everything she was hearing couldn’t possibly be true, and should be taken with healthy skepticism. She was well-educated and not prone to dismissing her learning casually, but Art made those arcane subjects so much fun to think about!<br /><br />Art Bell made the last few years Alice worked graveyard shift a delight, even though she had enjoyed it before she had found him. It was with deep sadness when she learned, nearly twenty years after she had first listened to his show, that Art passed away on April 13, 2018. Friday the thirteenth. As she uttered a silent prayer that the next phase of Art’s life would be as wonderful and fulfilling for him as his stay on Earth had been, she couldn’t help thinking how ironic the date of his death was. It was almost as if he had planned it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-67029541380781850082018-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:002018-05-02T13:18:00.134-07:00Peekpeek<br />verb, intransitive. To look quickly, typically in a furtive manner; to protrude slightly so as to be just visible.<br />Also a noun.<br /><br />The new neighbors’ flock of guineas didn’t take long to discover that Hillary’s yard was a good source of ticks and other nutritious bugs. They wandered across the dirt road every mid-morning and spent at least half an hour there, foraging. Hillary chuckled when she recalled Rick’s visit the second or third time his birds had invaded her yard.<br /><br />“I hope they’re not bothering you?” he had ventured uneasily.<br /><br />“Of course not,” she had told him. “I appreciate the service!”<br /><br />She knew that he was asking because a flock of guineas could make a lot of racket, if they felt threatened. Since the only threat on her property in daylight might be her pair of yard cats, she doubted that she would have cause to complain to him ... as if he would ever be able to control the barely-domesticated birds.<br /><br />Just then, Hillary heard them: a loud, chorus of “Buckwheat, buckwheat, buckwheat!”<br /><br />She rose from her desk and looked out the kitchen window. The guinea flock had formed a tight cluster a few feet from the edge of the porch. It looked like a circle of feather-clad soccer-sized balls, with heads on tapering necks thrusting outward from it randomly. All the birds seemed to be looking at a large flower pot at the edge of the porch. When Hillary saw that one of her cats was peeking at the guineas from behind it, she burst out laughing. Her fear that her cats would attack Rick’s guineas disappeared. The birds knew how to handle small feline predators.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-10979864085136781672018-04-29T10:22:00.000-07:002018-04-29T10:22:22.148-07:00Peakpeak<br />verb, intransitive. To reach a highest point, either of a specified value or at a specified time. Archaic: to decline in health and spirits or to waste away.<br />Also a noun and an adjective.<br /><br />Erin heard a murmur from the front desk and turned to see who it was. Joe Baker, the elderly founder of the small recording company who used her company to print CD inserts and booklets, was talking to Christine as he handed her a packet of papers. For the first time, Erin noticed that he was leaning on a cane. “When did that start?” she wondered.<br /><br />Joe turned toward the front door, then stopped and returned to the desk to add to what he had already told Christine. When he finally left, Erin rolled her chair back so that she could watch his progress. He had a limp and definitely needed the cane. He was leaning on it, after positioning it cautiously. She watched him negotiate the sidewalk back to his car, then she got up and approached Christine, who was scribbling notes to attach to the papers Joe had handed her.<br /><br />“Want me to write that up?” Erin asked her.<br /><br />“No need. They’re returned proofs.” She sneered at the packet as she paperclipped her note to it. “There are a lot of changes.” She handed Erin the papers and looked back at her monitor.<br /><br />“I’ve never seen Joe use a cane before,” she said before looking at the proofs. “Did he have an accident?”<br /><br />“No. I guess his old football injuries are catching up to him,” Christine answered.<br /><br />“That’s right,” Erin tilted her head in thought. “He was a big deal when he played for the university, wasn’t he?”<br /><br />Christine nodded. “I don’t recommend that you ask him about that, not unless you’ve got at least half an hour to spend listening to the answer.” Her sour expression told Erin that Christine had made that mistake once and was not planning to do so again.<br /><br />“That’s sad,” Erin said after a moment, staring out the window as she thought.<br /><br />“No it isn’t,” Christine spat, surprising Erin with her vehemence.<br /><br />“Yeah, I think it is,” Erin returned. “He peaked before he turned twenty-three.”<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-65152097307984956102018-04-25T10:19:00.000-07:002018-04-25T10:19:07.885-07:00Obligateobligate<br />verb. To bind or compel someone, especially legally or morally.<br />verb, transitive. To commit assets as security, as "the money must be obligated within thirty days."<br />Also an adjective.<br /><br />June was surprised and annoyed when two airline employees flagged down her and Tom. They had just deplaned and had less than thirty minutes to reach their connecting flight. She had only been in the Atlanta airport once before but remembered how large it was: the size of a small city. It even had its own mass-transit system to speed passengers between the far-flung gates and concourses.<br /><br />“You two are heading for concourse A, right?” asked one of the uniformed women. In response to Tom’s “Yes,” she went on: “Would you accompany this young man to his gate?” She turned to him. “Is it gate 19?” The boy nodded, and Tom stated that he and June would be happy to help.<br /><br />After one searching up-and-down look at the boy, June spun on one foot and headed toward the concourse exit. She was appalled. The airline staff had no business fobbing off their responsibility onto a couple of random passengers. She knew that there were rules for dealing with “unaccompanied minors.” Now that Tom had obligated them to take care of the child, it was too late to protest. An inner voice griped as she walked: “Really? We could be anybody--serial child predators! Unbelievable.”<br /><br />She led their trio as fast as she could without breaking into a jog, turning her head now and then to make sure that Tom and the boy were keeping up. The latter appeared to be about twelve years old, and was holding his own at the pace she was setting. She had to pause and read overhead signs several times to make sure they were heading toward concourse A, and when she did, she noticed that the boy was staying a cautious distance from her and Tom: just far enough away so that neither nor both of them could grab him. She smiled at his good sense. Not an idiot. He knew better than to trust strangers.<br /><br />After walking for nearly ten minutes, they reached the tram. One was waiting, and the electronic sign indicated that concourse A would be its next stop. She led the way on board, moved to one side and grabbed a bar.<br /><br />“Have you ever ridden one of these before?” she addressed the boy. He shook his head “No.” “It’s going to go really, really fast and it will stop suddenly,” she warned. “Hang on tight to the rail and keep your knees flexed so it won’t throw you.” He nodded. A few more people boarded, then the doors closed and the tram car started down its track. She had tried to estimate the speed of the tram the last time they had been in Atlanta. It seemed to go at fifty miles per hour or higher. She was convinced that it travelled at least a mile.<br /><br />As she had warned, it came to an abrupt halt and the doors slid open. She, Tom and the boy exited, then followed the signs toward concourse A. After about five minutes of walking, they arrived at gate 19. She flanked the boy as he approached the desk. “Does it look as if you’re in the right place?” she asked him. “Yes,” he answered, nodding. She and Tom withdrew a few feet as they saw two desk attendants turn their attention to the boy. June could tell that they were willing to take over his care. Relieved, she and Tom exchanged a glance, then continued their rapid pace down the concourse to their gate.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, <i>G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-52622284254459443822018-04-23T10:12:00.000-07:002018-04-23T10:12:13.240-07:00Narratenarrate<br />verb, transitive. To give a spoken or written account of. Often, as "be narrated." To provide a spoken commentary to accompany a film, broadcast, piece of music, etc.<br /><br />Not everyone had entered the room when Curt began to narrate the series of events that had led to the accident.<br /><br />"I was waiting for Joe to signal, then for Chris to move the van into line. My foot slipped off the brake pedal--I don't know why I didn't engage the parking brake; shift into neutral; whatever.... Before I knew it, the hood was buried in the side of Lee's trailer!"<br /><br />No one said anything. The men stole glances at each other, then looked at the floor or their feet. No one would look at Curt. Was he fishing for sympathy, or hoping that someone would offer an explanation that he could use as an excuse? If so, he was asking the wrong crowd. Every man present had been inconvenienced or harmed by Curt's laziness, carelessness or both. He may have had friends in his private life, but he didn't at work.<br /><br />"So, how do we deal with this?" he finally went on, looking around the circle of downturned faces. "What's the procedure?"<br /><br />"There's no 'we' dealing with this," Lee snarled. "You caused the accident; you find the boss and confess." There was a rustle of winter clothing as the group nodded agreement and shuffled in preparation for going back outside to deal with the vehicles. If anyone had looked at Curt, they would have seen his face pale.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-7619508365729878472018-04-15T14:39:00.000-07:002018-04-15T14:39:36.636-07:00Mandatemandate<br />verb, transitive. To give someone authority to act in a certain way. To require something to be done; to make mandatory.<br />Also a noun. Also an adjective, as "mandated"<br /><br />Production staff gathered at the conference table, bleary-eyed. Troy's hair looked uncombed. Stacy had not yet applied makeup and appeared undefined--not her assertive self. All nursed takeout coffee. Brad felt a moment's regret for calling a meeting so early, but shook it off. He might as well get it over with. Maybe the new requirements headquarters mandated would shake them up and wake them up. Now that he considered them in this light--both the illumination from the east window-wall next to the table, and the figurative light of the new corporate bosses' criticisms--he realized that his staff could stand a little upset. All of them, including Brad, had become complacent.<br /><br />"I know you're not used to being alert and productive at eight a.m.," he began, "but this comes from Delaware. The new owners have had time to look at our numbers and they're not happy. We look lazy, and they want changes, starting with our daily schedule. Everyone is supposed to be in the office, ready to begin work, at eight, starting today. I know it's going to be an adjustment, but we'll all have to make it or they'll find people who can."<br /><br />Ken scoffed. "They'll never be able to replace us with a more-talented team!"<br /><br />Brad met Ken's eyes and shook his head. "They can and they will. Argue all you want, Ken. They don't want to hear it. They want to see results and they want to see them soon."<br /><br />"How soon?" This was Stacy, her eyes widening in fear. Brad felt a twinge of sympathy. She was a single mother, after all, but he quashed it. If she didn't shape up with the others, there would be nothing he could do to salvage her position.<br /><br />"Immediately," he answered.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-62663836621039637682018-04-11T14:36:00.000-07:002018-04-11T14:36:01.374-07:00Lamelame<br />verb, transitive. To make a person or animal lame.<br />adjective. Of a person or animal, unable to walk normally because of an injury or illness affecting the leg or foot. Of an explanation or excuse, unconvincingly feeble.<br /><br />John set forth on his usual early-morning walk, determined to put in his thirty minutes. By the time he met Rick at the end of Rick's driveway, he was limping.<br /><br />"What's this?" Rick asked, looking at John's right foot.<br /><br />"Evidently," John stopped and raised the painful foot off the pavement a little, "I have lamed myself."<br /><br />"Stone bruise?"<br /><br />John shook his head. "That was what I thought at first. I was walking on that gravel side road just before the pain appeared, so it kind of followed. I've had a stone bruise before, and it always healed within two or three days. This pain has gone on for a week, and it seems to be getting worse. I did some research on this kind of thing online, and it seems to be <i>plantar fasciitis</i>."<br /><br />Rick's frown became more pronounced. "I've heard that's a long-term thing. Did you run across any quick fixes for it?"<br /><br />"No, unfortunately." John turned toward the stop sign at the end of their cul-de-sac and gestured for Rick to walk alongside him. "All the credible medical websites advise using the painful foot as little as possible; maybe ice packs. My brother says to roll a tennis ball under the instep, to stretch those ligaments and tendons. I think I'm just stuck like this for awhile." He turned his morose gaze on his companion. "I'm sorry. To the stop sign and back is all I dare do. The last thing I want is to injure it more and make it worse. This really hurts!"<br /><br />Rick stopped moving. "I don't want that either. Let's just stop."<br /><br />The two turned and returned the few yards to Rick's driveway, John limping. At Rick's house, they stood for awhile and traded a few tidbits of personal news. Rick looked at his friend then with more hope. Do you have a bicycle?"<br /><br />"I ... the household has one," John replied. "John Junior never took his when he moved out. He was leery about riding it in the city."<br /><br />"It's big enough for you, isn't it?"<br /><br />"Sure."<br /><br />"Let's cycle, then, instead of walking," Rick suggested. He hesitated, looking tentatively at John to see how the other would react. "If you want to, that is. I exercise a lot more when I do it with someone else. We've been able to do this pretty steadily, and we've both lost a little weight. What do you say?"<br /><br />John nodded. "That may be ideal. It's been fifteen or twenty years since I rode a bike, but they say you never forget how. You get yours out; I'll go get John Junior's." He turned and began limping more rapidly toward his house. "Hope the tires are still aired up," Rick heard him mutter as he moved away.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-15926491069445228482018-04-08T14:27:00.000-07:002018-04-08T14:27:03.073-07:00Kedgekedge<br />verb, transitive. To move (especially a ship or boat) by hauling in a hawser attached to a small anchor dropped at some distance.<br />verb, intransitive. Of a ship or boat, to move in such a way.<br />Also a noun.<br /><br />Marcy ventured one leg out of the canoe and regretted it. Sticky mud engulfed it halfway up her shin. With effort, she retrieved her ankle and foot, relieved that the mud had not sucked off her water sandal.<br /><br />She turned to look at Hal. "We're grounded. The water fell while we were sleeping."<br /><br />He grimaced at her stating the obvious, but agreed. "No way we could tell that when we stopped."<br /><br />They had paddled for more than an hour after dusk began, unsuccessfully seeking a place to spend the night. Finally, after full dark, with only the beams of flashlights to guide them, they had dropped anchor in a quiet eddy downstream of a bend, and slept as best they could, curled in the bottom of the canoe. Marcy's left arm and hip felt bruised where she had lain on the slats without any padding. Suddenly, she felt angry. Why had she agreed to come on this trip with Hal? Ahead, she could see nothing but more conflict between the two of them.<br /><br />Hal climbed out, sinking into the mud bar where they rested.<br /><br />"Careful not to lose your shoes," she cautioned.<br /><br />He nodded, with that same grimace. "You stay there, for now. Pull up the anchor, then tie the long rope to the forward thwart. I want you to brace your feet against that thwart and hold onto that rope. Maybe we can kedge the boat off this bar."<br /><br />"Maybe we can what?"<br /><br />"You'll see."<br /><br />He moved in slow motion through the mud toward the bow of the canoe, then waited while she did as he had instructed. The anchor--a twenty-five-pound free weight, the rope threaded through the hole in its center--was bogged in mud. Marcy avoided Hal's eye as she dragged it to the gunwale, then wiped it as clean as she could with her hands. She didn't want to add any more mud to the boat's interior. After she pulled the anchor in, she turned to the long rope coiled in the bow and knotted it to the thwart.<br /><br />"Toss me the coil," Hal told her.<br /><br />He caught it, then began to move, in slow motion again, away from the canoe, feeding out rope as he did. After a few yards, he was off the mudbank and in water. He paused to agitate mud off his feet and lower legs, then moved faster. A few yards further, he was below a stout tree that grew out of the steep bank at an angle, then curved upward. Marcy saw him take a deep breath, then he surged out of the water and up the bank, the rope resting on his near shoulder. Hal clung to the bank somehow and shook the rope to one hand. He tossed it over the tree trunk, then secured it with some kind of hitch. Marcy almost recognized it from the book of knots she had looked at in Hal's apartment. Then, he let himself slide back down to the water and returned to the canoe.<br /><br />He moved to the stern instead of climbing in. "Pick up the rope, brace your feet on the thwart, and get ready to pull," he instructed. "I'll push from back here."<br /><br />Marcy obeyed, and began to pull as hard as she could. Nothing happened. She berated herself for skipping the push-ups and pull-ups so many times when she was at the gym. How could she have known that she would need so much more upper-body strength on a canoe trip?<br /><br />The canoe shifted, maybe half an inch. Encouraged, she got a better grip on the rope and renewed her effort, leaning back so that her weight was balanced between her feet and her arms. When she reached a sort of "sweet spot" of leverage, the canoe moved an encouraging couple of inches. She could hear Hal grunting behind her as he pushed at the stern. Again, the boat moved, further this time. Soon, it began to slide on the mud. Marcy began to get excited. Hal's strategy was working. They were going to get off the mudbank and be able to continue downstream.<br /><br />"Are we kedging?" she called as she kept up a steady tension on the rope.<br /><br />"You are kedging. I'm pushing."<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br />Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-92220144740168493862018-04-04T13:39:00.000-07:002018-04-04T13:39:27.005-07:00Jackjack<br />verb, phrasal. As "jack someone around": to cause someone inconvenience or problems. As "jack in or into": to log into or connect up. As "jack something up": to raise something, especially a vehicle, with a jack.<br />verb, transitive. To take something illicitly, to steal.<br />Also a noun.<br /><br />Marie saved her work when she heard the back door open. Larry entered with a heavy sigh and made his way to the armchair by her desk, where he flopped.<br /><br />She studied his face before she spoke. His forehead was showing a little sunburn; his eyes were puffy; streaks of dirt decorated his cheeks. "How's it going?" she ventured.<br /><br />"Nowhere." Marie waited, then he continued: "Why do I let you talk me into these things?"<br /><br />"Talk you into what? You were planning to cut down a tree today regardless."<br /><br />"Not where you talked me into cutting it," he cried. "Now I've got a forty-foot tree hung up on another tree, and the chainsaw blade is stuck in its trunk. My saw is trapped inside a tree, and it's going to rain."<br /><br /><i>And it's your fault,</i> Marie mentally finished for him. Thirty years of marriage had taught her not to take the complaint personally. She knew that it was just his frustration talking. The rain wasn't predicted to start for nearly two days. Larry had encountered this situation before when logging and had always managed to solve the problem. Felling trees that stood near other trees was a puzzle that he relished solving, after the initial tirade.<br /><br />Marie rolled her chair back and reached for his hand. "Let's go look at it," she suggested. After another sigh and a look from him that was half-glare, half-resigned, he rose and followed her outside.<br /><br />The tree lay diagonally across a small clearing, its top branches resting on a few limbs in two neighboring trees. Larry slowly approached its base, examining the branches above. She followed, but kept her distance. Careful not to step where the leaning trunk could kick back and hit him, Larry studied angles and calculated forces. Marie looked at the tools already in the clearing: a chain, a pry bar, the temporarily-useless chain saw pinched in the tree.... He had already tried several ideas.<br /><br />"Maybe," Larry mused, sighting up the trunk, "if I jack it up from there," he gestured at a point just above the saw bar, then reached up and forward, aligning his arm with the truck. He rotated his arm from the shoulder, in anticipation of how it would fall after that. "Yeah," he said, "that might do it."<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-47499957683248648652018-04-01T13:29:00.000-07:002018-04-01T13:29:01.266-07:00Identifyidentify<br />verb, transitive. To establish or indicate who or what someone or something is. To recognize or distinguish. As "identify someone or something with": to associate someone closely with, or to regard someone as having strong links with. To equate.<br />verb, intransitive. To regard oneself as sharing the same characteristics or thinking as someone else.<br /><br />The door creaked softly as Tim pushed it. "Hello? Anyone home?" He remained on the threshold, listening, but no one answered or appeared, so he stepped into the apartment.<br /><br />As soon as he inhaled, he knew that no one had been there for a long time--weeks, maybe. He stirred dust with every step, and the air was stuffy, as if it hadn't moved lately.<br /><br />"What a dump," he muttered as he approached what passed for the bed: a mattress on the floor in the far corner, covered with creased, stained sheets and a thin blanket. No one had bothered to spread it up, much less make it. He crouched over it, grimacing at the greasy-looking pillowcases and sniffed. He could barely detect the odor of sweat. So, they had been gone for awhile, but not all that long. Seven-to-ten days, maybe.<br /><br />A gooseneck lamp with a dusty, sixty-watt bulb sat on a cardboard box next to the head of the bed. Beside it, on the matted brown carpet, was an aluminum pie pan that had been used as an ashtray, brimming with cigarette butts. Tim hunkered down to poke through them. They all seemed to be the same brand--brown paper around the filters--but as he stirred them, he spotted a few that were different: filters covered in white paper and stained with lipstick. He lifted one to take a closer look and immediately identified it: her brand; her shade. He dropped the butt and rose to his feet, turning to look at the galley kitchen and the door to the bathroom. She had been here, all right. Now, he needed to find something that would suggest where she might have gone.<br /><br />He entertained a brief hope that she and the man she had stayed with in this apartment might have split up when they left, but realized that that probably wasn't the case. She hated being alone. It was one of the reasons she was no longer living with Tim.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, <i>G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-31313479919489467392018-03-28T13:25:00.000-07:002018-03-28T13:25:05.896-07:00Harassharass<br />verb, transitive. To subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation. To make repeated small-scale attacks (military).<br /><br />The cheek of birds when confronting creatures who can and do prey on them is always surprising.<br /><br />Bluejays steal food from the housecats' bowl. It's easy for them to get away with this when the bowl sits on the porch; not so easy when the bowl is in the garage. The side door is open, but it is a mostly-enclosed space. One marauding jay was caught while snacking. The cat trotted out of the garage, the bird in his mouth. The cat changed the grip of his jaw and the bluejay was able to escape. Within three minutes, he returned with all his friends and relatives, who landed in the trees and proceeded to squawk insults at the cat, who sat glumly, sphinxlike, glaring at them.<br /><br />More surprising is what crows do to hawks and owls when they find one. A group of crows will pursue a raptor, cawing and even approaching it and pecking at it in flight. They will harrass the larger, more threatening bird until they have driven it out of their territory.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-43328270142609816492018-03-25T13:21:00.000-07:002018-03-25T13:21:35.980-07:00Gallgall<br />verb, transitive. To fret and wear away by friction. To chafe, irritate or vex. To harass.<br />verb, intransitive. To become sore or worn by rubbing. Also, a noun.<br /><br />The executive desk chair creaked faintly as Darrel pushed away from the keyboard and leaned back. He flexed his shoulders, trying to ease their tension. He must be getting old, he thought, then chuckled aloud. Of course he was: he had turned sixty-seven on his last birthday. He wondered again why he had accepted the job of running this company when the owner decided he wanted to take early retirement. It had seemed a good idea at the time, but since then, the restrictions on what he could do to promote and grow the business had galled him, more with each passing month.<br /><br />He didn't need to review the books to know that they had now been operating in the red for more than half a year. He had done everything he knew how to do as a manager: kept strict tabs on employee performance and hours, made countless suggestions to the customer-service representative, and held endless phone conversations with former and present clients. Still, revenues continued to drop.<br /><br />Conversations with the employees whose opinions he trusted the most yielded the same conclusion he had reached himself, some time ago.<br /><br />"We need to advertise," Lizzy had advised, her round face solemn. Darrel didn't need to ask Russ, who sat glumly, staring at the floor. He knew that Russ would agree.<br /><br />"What if we just did it, in a small way, then justified it to Steve later, after it bore fruit?" Nancy had asked, her head cocked to one side. "You've heard that old saying, haven't you Darrel? 'It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.'"<br /><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, <i>G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span></div></div><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-46646931090197044082015-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:002015-10-28T09:47:00.470-07:00Falsifyfalsify<br />verb, transitive. To prove or declare false; to make false by mutilation or addition, as a will; to misrepresent; to prevent the fulfillment of.<br />verb, intransitive. To tell lies.<br /><br />Mike couldn't keep still as he waited for Mr. Hendricks to end a phone call and summon him. The hard, wooden chair was uncomfortable and he suspected that Mrs. Collier, Hendricks' secretary, was glaring at him when he wasn't watching her. He thought he had been doing well at this job and couldn't imagine why Hendricks wanted to talk to him. Had he been found out after all these months?<br /><br />Mike knew he shouldn't have falsified so much of the information on his application. He should have known better. It was just that, after all the rejections he received after being truthful, he had become desperate. All he had needed was a chance to prove that he could go straight and do honest work, and he felt that he had done so at this job. What was he going to do after Hendricks fired him? All he could think of was that phrase he had read in some old classic he had been assigned in school before he had dropped out: "Woe is me." Woe is me, indeed, Mike thought in despair. Not admitting that he hadn't graduated from high school was almost as bad as not admitting that he had served time in prison. Both facts would turn up on even the most sketchy background check. What had he been thinking?<br /><br />"Mr. Hendricks will see you now, Mike," Mrs. Collier interrupted his gloomy thoughts.<br /><br />He stammered, "Thank you, ma'am," as he rose and entered the boss' office.<br /><br />"Good to see you, Mike," the man said, gesturing toward an upholstered chair that faced him across his desk. As soon as Mike sat, Hendricks began. "I've been keeping an eye on you lately. You pay attention and work hard. You never try to short me on your hours. Do you know that you're the only man on the loading dock who goes straight to work after you clock in? The others rush to the time clock right after they enter the building. Once they're on company time, they stand around gossiping for fifteen minutes before they lift a finger. Like a bunch of high school girls!"<br /><br />Mike stared at his boss in confusion as Hendricks paused after that statement. Wasn't he in trouble? It didn't sound as if he was. Why, then, was he here?<br /><br />"I wanted to ask you something, Mike," Hendricks continued. "Would you be interested in supervising the loading dock? Dave Smith is leaving. He's found another job. You're the only worker I would feel comfortable promoting. If you don't want the job, I'll have to see if I can hire someone to replace Dave."<br /><br />Mike felt stricken with surprise and remorse. If he accepted the offer without coming clean, the consequences would only be worse when he was found out later. If he refused the offer without explanation, Hendricks would be more likely to have him investigated, something he obviously hadn't done. He squirmed. If he was ever going to confess that he lied on his application, it would have to be now. He took a deep breath.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from&nbsp;</i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from&nbsp;</i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-20888690004366228202015-10-25T09:42:00.000-07:002015-10-25T09:42:00.103-07:00Evadeevade<br />verb, intransitive. To slip away; to take refuge in evasion.<br />verb, transitive. To elude by dexterity or strategem; to escape; to avoid facing up to; to avoid the performance of; to circumvent; to avoid answering directly<br /><br />The man wearing the dark-brown sweater and patched jeans was following her, Emma decided. She stood at the window of a gift shop, watching the reflections in the glass instead of looking at the items on display. The man was across the street, about three doors down. Instead of looking into the window of the store where he idled, he had his back to it. His gaze moved about, but returned to her more often than anywhere else.<br /><br />Emma leaned closer to the glass as if straining to see something better and weighed possibilities. Was he a cop? She doubted it. He had been too easy to spot. That left one of Holland's underlings, or a mugger. Either way, he was a problem that needed solving.<br /><br /><br />She rummaged for her compact and opened it, her back still to the stalker. She snickered when she saw him flinch, turn and move two doors further away, spooked by the mirror. What an amateur! Didn't he realize that she had been observing his reflection on the window for several minutes? She snapped the compact shut and knew that he would be easy to evade. The gift shop connected to a clothing store by a side door inside, and that store had a coffee bar with an outdoor seating area in the back. Because Emma had worked there, a long time ago, she knew about the hidden gate in the courtyard wall that opened onto an alley.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from&nbsp;</i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from&nbsp;</i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-61896749020943653632015-10-23T09:41:00.000-07:002015-10-23T09:41:05.310-07:00Deceivedeceive<br />verb, transitive. To cause someone to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain a personal advantage. As "deceive oneself," to fail to admit to oneself that something is true. To be sexually unfaithful to one's regular partner.<br />verb, intransitive. As "be deceived," to give a mistaken impression.<br /><br />She gazed outside at the unrelieved gloom of a rainy winter afternoon and tried not to wonder how she would manage to get through the rest of the day and the evening. She had nearly finished her schoolwork. She could only stretch it so far. Faintly, she could hear the murmur of voices from the lower floor of the house as her parents and her brothers engaged in their ceaseless wrangling.<br /><br />The fact that all of them still left her alone to study was a marvel. She could only guess at their motives. She was certain that they were founded upon greed. Ignorant themselves, they probably expected her to continue to further her education, then return to this house and take up a teaching position in the local school. That would ensure that the family could count on the steady income she would bring in, no matter how badly the fortunes of the rest of the family went, or the state of their farm.<br /><br />She had kept silent about her ambitions. She had doggedly worked at her academic subjects, day in and day out, even during breaks and summer vacations, to keep alive the fiction of her intention to become a teacher. They would never guess her true intention, she thought. There were only a few more months to go.<br /><br />Like clockwork, the sounds of a struggle rose from downstairs. She could hear the thud of a falling body, then the sound of a fist contacting a meaty abdomen. Cries rose and mounted.<br /><br />Her eyes closed, and she wished her ears could, too. For the thousandth time, she hoped that she had deceived them so well that they would let her go to college the next autumn without argument. She had to maintain her act until then--long enough to get away from this lousy excuse for a family and find a different way of life. She did not plan to return to this farm, ever.<br /><br />The sound level from below grew louder. It was only a matter of time before one of them would call her name and summon her to mediate--the family peacemaker. She was weary of the role. She thought briefly of Mary, the friend she had made some six years before, who had invited her to spend a few nights with her family. That was where she had learned what a wonderful thing a family could be--not like her own. That was when she had hatched her plan of escape. Mary had suggested that, with more learning, she could grow up to be something more than a drudge trapped by her family's own ill fortunes.<br /><br />She fought the tears that rose to her eyes. Why had Mary's family had to move away? She missed her so. Her gaze fell to the history book open before her, but she had not had time to resume reading when she heard her mother call her name.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-18055361775821022422015-10-07T17:45:00.000-07:002015-10-07T17:45:01.015-07:00Cavilcavil<br />verb, intransitive. To make petty or unnecessary objections. Also a noun, meaning an objection of this kind.<br /><br />Josh tore his eyes away from the sunlit view out the conference-room window. Looking at it would do nothing but distract him more than he already was. The weather had been ideal when he arrived at the office forty minutes ago. He could almost feel the breeze now, here, as his supervisor droned his way through his report. Josh would rather have been outside, his legs pumping as his bike began to mount a hill, anticipating the elated feeling he would have when he reached the summit, slicked with sweat, air searing his windpipe as he made that final effort.<br /><br />But for now, no. Better not to think of that, if he could manage it. He turned not only his head, but his upper body away from the window and tried to focus on the people around the table. Carol had raised a question about a statement Drew--Josh's supervisor--had made in his report. As Josh listened, he realized that, even though Drew's description of the facts had been accurate, Carol was complaining about his wording. What a waste of time! What difference did it make, when everyone knew what Drew had meant? Again, Josh wondered why he had been called to this meeting. He knew he had better things to do than listen to two lower-management types cavil about adjectives.<br /><br />He kept his eyes away from the view and listened, however. It wouldn't do to be caught daydreaming about cycling when they finally got around to telling him why he was here. He needed this job, no matter how much he disliked it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary, <i>Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-2119502347562881532015-10-04T17:43:00.000-07:002015-10-04T17:43:00.407-07:00Bloviatebloviate<br />verb. To talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.<br /><br />John and Donna settled into their recliners for the national evening news. They had arrived home from work half an hour ago. Donna had turned off the crock pot and put rolls into the oven. Supper would be ready in ten minutes. Both were looking forward to enjoying it while catching up on the day's events.<br /><br />After a brief introduction, the host announced that the President would be making a special announcement. Donna sighed inwardly and began to cast about for something she could use as a distraction. She was so tired of that man and his empty, self-aggrandizing speeches. How he had gotten re-elected was beyond her. Simply beyond.<br /><br />John expressed what she was feeling, out loud and in terms no one could mistake: "Not again! He never says anything worth hearing. Why do they give him time on the news when so much is happening in the world that's important--worth learning about?" He settled into his chair, fuming, the bliss of being home after the workday spoiled.<br /><br />Donna looked at her knitting, but decided to leave it in the basket for now. She would have to get the rolls out in a few minutes anyway.<br /><br />"Try the other channels," she suggested.<br /><br />John picked up the remote and clicked through the major networks. All were airing national news now and all were showing the leader making his speech. John set down the remote resignedly.<br /><br />"Do you want me to turn it off?"<br /><br />"I guess not. Maybe, for once, he'll say something we need to know."<br /><br />She might have saved her breath. The man on the screen bloviated, as usual, on a topic she and John had discussed at length over the past two weeks. Despite new information they had taken into account, the speech might as well have been made a month ago. Once this leader fixed on a position, he rarely changed it. To John and Donna's chagrin, his decisions almost never agreed with what they thought would be the best course for the country.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from&nbsp;</i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from&nbsp;</i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-44624177304567711162015-09-30T17:38:00.000-07:002015-09-30T17:38:00.440-07:00Abetabet<br />verb, transitive. To encourage or assist someone to do something wrong, in particular, to commit a crime or other offense.<br /><br />Jill motioned Jason to the window. "Have you ever seen them do this?"<br /><br />She was referring to the actions of their two dogs, who were trotting across the lawn in what could almost be described as a grid pattern, their noses low to the ground.<br /><br />Jason nodded. "It's called 'casting.' It's hunting behavior. They found a faint scent and they're trying to find its strongest traces. As a team, they're abetting each other. It's much more efficient than what a dog can do working alone."<br /><br />"I wonder what they're after," Jill mused, her face leaning close to the glass.<br /><br />"Probably a rabbit."<br /><br />"I never had a dog when I was a kid," she told him. "I'm glad we got these two. The more I live with them, the more awesome they become."<br /><br />Jason smiled and hugged her from behind. "I'm glad you feel that way. I can't imagine living without a dog or two."<br /><br />"Didn't you have ... like ... six?"<br /><br />"Oh, sure!" The memory brought out his northern Florida accent. "It wasn't necessarily a good idea. There were times when Mom and Dad couldn't afford dog food. We would feed them okra then."<br /><br />"Okra!" Jill drew away from the window and half-turned so she could address him face to face. "I've never heard of such a thing. And they ate it?"<br /><br />Jason was nodding and smiling fondly as he remembered. "They not only ate it, they seemed to like it better than the commercial food, and," he moved forward and pecked her on the lips, "they thrived on it."<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from </i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i> Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from </i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i> G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><br /></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-8228475614475211432015-09-27T17:34:00.000-07:002015-09-27T17:34:00.372-07:00Zigzagzigzag<br />verb, intransitive. To have or move along in a zigzag course, alternating direction. Also a noun, adjective or adverb.<br /><br />The women paused after emerging from the trees that had blocked the prospect before them until then. The trail zigzagged up the slope--a tracing on the mountain--until it disappeared into a patch of boulders. Trees were few on the mountainside, casting little shade on the trail, that they could see.<br /><br />"There it is," Leah stated, shrugging to adjust her pack's load. "It looks even worse than I heard."<br /><br />"Are you sure we shouldn't just camp here?" Carly's voice held a faint whining note. "We could get a fresh start in the morning."<br /><br />Leah gave her a stony look. "The others are waiting, remember? They'll probably have dinner ready by the time we climb that and join them. The only food you and I are carrying right now are a few snacks and our water. I don't know about you, but I want a real meal this evening."<br /><br />She turned her eyes to the daunting view ahead. They were going to be exhausted by the time they reached the alpine meadow that they had been told lay at the end of the trail and on the far side of the eminence it traversed. There was no other way to join the rest of the party except to get started. The buddy system was inviolate. Leah would not leave Carly; nor would she submit to her companion's lazy impulse. Besides condemning them to a punishing climb in the morning after an inadequate meal, doing so would worry the rest of the group needlessly.<br /><br />"I guess you're right. I know you're right," Carly sighed. She, too, hunched her shoulders and fiddled with her pack's waist strap. Then, to Leah's surprise, she took a deep breath and started toward the foot of the trail.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from&nbsp;</i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from&nbsp;</i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-655357679888402722.post-59374255899208767992015-09-23T17:31:00.000-07:002015-09-23T17:31:00.173-07:00Yawyaw<br />verb, intransitive. To twist or oscillate about a vertical axis. Also a noun.<br /><br />The red-tailed hawk hunted low, skimming across a fence that bordered a pasture, then a gravel lane, then another fence before it swooped up and took rest on the branch of an oak. Its perch was well-chosen: it was cloaked in masses of leaves and could not be seen from the ground. Throughout its passage, it had not uttered a sound.<br /><br /><br />With a shrill cry, it left its blind on the tree and flew in a different direction toward an open glade carpeted with tall grass. Finding no prey, it flexed its tail and yawed. It slowly ascended a thermal column, spiraling upward until it was no more noticeable to an earthbound viewer than a sparrow might have been.<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Definitions adapted from&nbsp;</i>The New Oxford American Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from&nbsp;</i>Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,<i>&nbsp;G. &amp; C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.</i></span><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Ruth MacLaurinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16476720512053542520noreply@blogger.com0